The Academy is a fanfiction novel written by Australian writer Philip Graham, known by his moniker RazorEye, published under Sarasota Dreams. The novel follows Airheart, and details her, Rainbow Dash, and Thunderlane's time at the Wonderbolts Academy, where Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane fall into depression.

Contents

Style

The novel is written in the past and present tense, first-person perspective of Airheart. The novel itself acts as an auto-biography written in-story by Airheart herself; it follows Airheart's thoughts and feelings as she remembers the events during her time at the Academy, while she is writing them down.

Summary

The novel opens on an introduction by Airheart and her background. She tells of how she wanted to become a Wonderbolt since she was a filly, and how her love for flying and the sky had helped her realize her dream of being a Wonderbolt. She would always fly as high as she could until she found a place in the sky to stay and relax. She recalls, however, the first time she flew up, she was thrown out of the sky by a sonic rainboom that dealt damage to her wing. However, she was rescued by the Wonderbolts led by a stallion Pegasus with brown combed-back hair, and discovered her confused fear and love of falling through this experience. Through her recovery, she also studied English in her prospects of becoming a writer as well.

She starts telling the story of her time at the Wonderbolts Academy, where, after she is accepted into the Academy, she makes her flight towards the Academy and immediately meets a gentle but bashful Rainbow Dash. She moves into her dorm room, and meets Thunderlane just as he pops out to collect an unusually large amount of letters left at his door.

She goes on to describe the tangible relationship that she had with both Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane, describing the three of them as the “trio that would never part”, but also describes the doubts and worries she had for the two of them at the time, being mystified by the double-personalities of both ponies. She points out Rainbow Dash’s split-personality as one that is influenced greatly by the friends she had at the Academy, which, ultimately, were always only Thunderlane and Airheart. She tells of her darker, mellower side, completely opposite to the personality she shows when she is with the two of them, where she would always become weighted with depression in the absence of friends. Airheart then begins to mention Thunderlane’s erratic behaviour as a volunteer bartender at the mess hall and dorm entrances of the Wonderbolts Academy, where he would constantly rotate amongst the mares of the academy to connect with. This behaviour in addition to the constant influx of mail he receives from “some ponies” gave Airheart the impression that Thunderlane constantly looks for mares to bring to his bedroom. She then writes that In a somewhat peculiar attempt to stop Thunderlane from repeating the cycle, she herself attempted to start a relationship with Thunderlane in the hope that they would fall in love with each other.

Characters

Airheart

Airheart, whose point of view is the focus of The Academy, is a Pegasus pony who attends the Wonderbolts Academy. She boasts a light-pink coat and a brown mane. Although her appearance in the show is very minor, she is depicted in The Academy as a optimistic and understanding pony who is very cautious and aware of the world around her, hence the first-person perspective of the novel.

Rainbow Dash

Rainbow Dash, one of two main characters in The Academy, is a sky-blue Pegasus pony with magenta eyes, and a rainbow-colored mane and tail. Her cutie mark is a cloud with a red, yellow, and blue lightning bolt. Her depiction in Friendship is Magic is a very brave and bold character. She is also very boyish and dislikes "girly" stuff. In The Academy, Rainbow Dash attends the Wonderbolts Academy, but after many failures in both physical and practical tests at the Academy, she slowly slips into a Major depressive disorder.

Thunderlane

Thunderlane, the other main character, is a black Pegasus stallion with a Mohawk light blue and white mane. He appears in only two episodes of Friendship is Magic, with only a minor role in one, although his character is used as a lead in The Academy. Graham's depiction of Thunderlane is that of a split personality, driven by desire for other ponies in the Academy. He is gentle, kind and trustworthy when he is at ease, but when in lust for another mare, Thunderlane usually becomes eccentric and presents himself as a charming character.